❝ a new world is gunning for you ❞

•••

Reggie smiled as he played the bass along with his band. Sophie and Dean nodded their heads to the beat of the music while Dean tapped the girl’s thigh to the rhythm of the music. Sophie was excited about finally getting to see Reggie’s band, Sunset Curve, perform even if it was just a rehearsal. The team had practice when the band would be performing tonight so the band agreed to let Sophie and Dean watch their rehearsal.

“How was that?” Luke, the lead singer of the band, asked the couple once they played the final note of the song.

“That was my favorite song you guys played,” Sophie smiled.

The band smiled at each other as they set down their instruments and made their way to sit down with the couple. They were currently sitting in the garage at Bobby, the rhythm guitarist, grandparent’s house. He lived with the older couple which worked out for the band as the noise didn’t bother them.

“Are you guys excited for your last game tomorrow?” Alex, the drummer, asked as he sat across from the hockey players.

Dean nodded while looking over at Sophie.

“I’m more nervous than anything. Last time we played against Iceland, we got our asses handed to us. Us and Julie got thrown out of the game for things that weren’t even our fault. That stupid ref ran into Dean’s arm and blamed him. The Iceland jerks were being misogynistic and they called a penalty on me for something an Iceland player clearly did. I just, this means a lot to me and I don’t want the team to be crushed if we lose. Everyone has been looking forward to this,” Sophie rambled on as she played with Dean’s fingers.

“Soph you guys are going to do amazing tomorrow. You’ve done so much to help them improve and there’s no way that Iceland will be able to beat you guys tomorrow,” Reggie reassured the girl as he messed up her hair.

The brunette groaned as she smoothed out her hair while the boys all laughed at her. She rolled her eyes before flicking Dean’s forehead. As much as she faked being annoyed, in that moment she felt at peace. She was with Dean and her new friends and the only thing she was missing at that moment was Fulton and Kenny.

Dean and Sophie spent the next two hours hanging around the band as they talked about anything and everything they could think of. Topics such as favorite bands, favorite shows (Dean had brought up Sophie’s love for Roundhouse), school, and family came up.

The topic of family seemed to make every person in the group tense up and it was quickly forgotten which they all seemed to be thankful for. None of them had the best family life. The band didn’t want to let Dean and Sophie know that and vice versa. Sophie checked the clock that was on the wall and sighed.

“We have twenty minutes until we’re supposed to meet Fulton and the others for dinner. Do you four want to tag along? It’ll be fun,” Sophie offered as she looked around at the four boys.

“Are you sure? We don’t want to intrude on a team thing,” Bobby said as he looked between the boys and Sophie.

“Yeah, it’ll be cool. Plus, it’s only going to be a few of us anyway,” Dean reassured them.

“Well then we’d love to join you guys,” Alex spoke with a smile.

Bobby’s grandpa offered to give the group a ride to the restaurant which they were all thankful for. They all hopped into the minivan quickly and they were off dinner. The car ride was filled with Nirvana blasting through the speakers.

They group found their way into the restaurant and found Fulton, Kenny, Adam, and Dwayne all waiting for them. Sophie rushed up to the four and hugged her brother before explaining to the four that Reggie, Alex, Luke, and Bobby would be joining them for dinner.

Dean walked with the band as they watched Sophie rush ahead of them. He smiled as he watched her excitedly greet her brother and their friends. Reggie took notice of this and smiled as well. He was glad that he had noticed Dean watching him and Sophie that one day after their game. That was the main reason he had asked the girl out. He knew that she wouldn’t say yes because of her feelings for Dean. He figured that asking her out would encourage her to act on her feelings for Dean or the boy would act after seeing other people also have an interest in the girl.

•••

When the team got to their practice that night, they were informed to stay in the clothes they had on and to only change into their skates for some reason. Sophie found it odd but didn’t complain as she very much enjoyed the outfit she was wearing. Was the main reason she liked it so much due to the fact that she had stolen one of Dean’s t-shirts? Yes, yes it was. Did Dean tease her about it every chance he got the entire day? Yes, yes he did.

The team quickly gathered on the ice, following Bombay.

“Coach, shouldn’t we have our hockey gear on?” Luis asked their coach as the man stopped on the ice.

The entire team chimed in their agreements as they all huddled around their coach.

“Guys this is our last team practice which means,” Bombay was cut off by Averman.

“The return of Captain Blood,” the redhead teased as the rest of the team laughed.

Coach Bombay shook his head at their antics and reached behind towards the bench.

“It means…Let’s have some fun!”

He threw a beach ball out onto the ice causing the team to smile and cheer. Most of the team started to kick around the ball or hit it to keep it in the air while others skated around. Sophie quickly rushed up to Kenny and grabbed his hands, spinning the two of them around in circles.

“God, I love it here,” the girl sighed as the two continued spinning.

“Me too,” Kenny beamed as they bumped into the wall and started to laugh.

Jesse called out to the pair as the ball soared towards them. Kenny rushed up to the beach ball and set it like a volleyball towards Sophie who hit it towards Dean. He hit the ball back to Kenny who then passed to Averman.

“Sophie go long!” The redhead shouted as he served the ball towards the other half of the rink.

As their team turned towards the direction that the ball went, they saw the Iceland team standing there in their full uniforms. Sophie groaned quietly, upset that the team’s fun was interrupted by the very people they were set to play the next day. Not only was the Iceland team and their coach there but also their trainer that had been a factor in the reason Team USA almost had their downfall. Sophie’s hand found Dean’s and the boy held the girl’s in his own.

Stanson leaned down and picked up the beach ball, deflating it with his hands. Sophie rolled her eyes at the man. Did he really think that that would intimidate them? The man tossed the deflated beach ball to the side without breaking his eye contact with Coach Bombay as Gunner Stahl handed his coach his stick. The Iceland team and their coach skated forward, stopping about ten feet away from Bombay and Miss McKay.

“Playtime is over. We have the ice now,” Stanson spoke. “You and your little rink rats must leave.”

Kenny and Dwayne gripped onto Sophie’s arms to stop her when she went to move forward.

“We’re right here coach,” Dean nodded to Bombay in support as the rest of the team nodded as well.

Bombay gave his team a small smile in gratitude before turning back to the opposing coach.

“The only thing little was your career in the pros,” Bombay stated firmly.

“Are you sure it’s not his,” Sophie’s muttering was cut off by Kenny firmly placing his hand over her mouth.

Now was definitely not the time for her to be running her mouth. The entirety of their team was laughing at Bombay’s comeback while the few that heard Sophie laughed a bit harder.

“Gordon, no. Let’s go,” Miss McKay warned as she tried to usher him and the team off of the ice.

“Well at least I had a shot. I was there,” Stanson retorted after a moment.

“You were a disgrace,” Bombay shot back quickly, his smile gone.

After a few, very long, moments Bombay broke his staring contest with Stanson to tell his team it was time to go. Nobody moved, annoyed with Stanson and his cocky attitude. Sophie desperately wanted one free punch at the man, even if it wouldn’t change anything.

“Let’s go I said. Come on,” Bombay spoke louder this time as he turned to look at his team.

“Can you still move on the ice?” Stanson asked quickly.

“Oh my god does this man ever shut up,” Sophie softly groaned to herself. “I just want to go get ice cream.”

Stanson asked Bombay to play with him and show him his signature move his father had taught him. Sophie rolled her eyes once again as she leaned into Dean’s side. The Iceland coach then brought Jan into the conversation which annoyed Sophie.

“What are you sad your father didn’t teach you it first?” The brunette asked with a fake pout before rolling her eyes.

Dean had to look down for a moment to hide his amusement. The team tried not to laugh at the girl’s words as Bombay sent her a warning look. Stanson called for Marria, their trainer, to hand him her stick before tossing it at Bombay who caught it with ease. After a moment the coach spoke up.

“Three bar. First one to hit both posts and crossbar. Have to take it out past the blue line.”

“I know the game,” Stanson stated.

The two teams moved to the sides of the ice as they watched their coach get ready to face off. Each team cheered their coach on as they watched in anticipation. Stanson got the puck first as Bombay tried to retrieve it from the ex-pro. After knocking Bombay to the ground, Stanson managed to score which made the Iceland team cheer.

Bombay got the puck next and managed to score quickly which made his team cheer loudly. Sophie clapped and turned to high five Dwayne who was on the other side of Fulton. Bombay quickly got the puck for a second time in a row and scored almost as quickly as he did the time prior. She was so happy that if she wasn’t in skated, Sophie would have been jumping.

Bombay had gotten the puck for a third time in a row which seemed to anger Stanson.

“One more post and you go home crying. By the way Stanson, you owe me a beach ball,” Bombay smiled as he moved around the Iceland coach.

It happened so fast that Sophie wasn’t even sure it really happened until Bombay was on the ground. Stanson had smacked his stick into Bombay’s injured knee causing the man to tumble to the ground. The entirety of Team USA rushed over to check on their coach as he struggled to get up.

“It’s all right,” Bombay said as the group of them helped him up to his feet.

“What the hell was that for?” Sophie shouted as she shoved her way to the front of the group. “Why are you such a douchebag?”

“Ladies shouldn’t use language like that little girl,” Stanson said with a smirk.

“Oh lady my ass,” the girl scoffed as she made a move to skate forward before Dean grabbed onto her waist and pulled her back.

“Nope, not today babe. Nope.”

“Get your coach off the ice. We have to practice now.”

It took the entire team along with Miss McKay, Bombay, Mr. Tibbles, and Jan to hold back Fulton, Dean, Sophie, and Julie from attacking Stanson. Sophie struggled for a few moments longer than the other three but still gave up when Bombay gave her a look. She no longer felt in the mood to get ice cream.

hey everyone i'm so

sorry it took this long

for me to update. i

made this chapter

extra long to make

up for it. i'm currently

working on the next

chapter. love you all

🤍